of spokane



W. M. FP QC JST I Jan. 5, 1932. I INSECT TRAP r 7 Re. 18,313

Filed Dec. 12. 1927 -Original Filed Dec. 12, 1927 4 5 m2 v T 5 llomey II Q Inventor EZLZ/ Willi M. Fmsr By Reiasued Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE WILLIAM M. FROST, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOB TOFROST ELECTRIC (10., OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTONINSECT 'mAr Original No. 1,748,665, dated January 14, 1930, Serial No.239,369, filed December 12,1927. Annlleaflon 101' reissue filed November24,

My present invention relates toinsect traps of the electrocuting type,and particularly to devices in which cage-like or grid-like electrodesof opposite polarity are so formed and positioned that insects cominginto contact with the opposed electrodes will be electro outed.

One of the principal objects of my invention is the provision of adevice of this general character which will present relatively largesurface areas of opposed electrodes combined with relatively narrowintervening view of a portion of the transformer, transpassages, andwhich will produce unusually effective and satisfactory results in thetrap- "ping and electrocution of insects. These results are attainedthrough the novel construction and arrangement of the parts of thedevice constituting my invention, and principally through the use ofelectrodes including spaced alternating blades. In its more specificaspects, my invention pertains to details of construction andarrangement of its parts,

and particularly of the electrodes.

Devices constructed in accordance with the principles of my inventionmay be manufactured conveniently and at comparatively low cost, are ofcompact form and attractive appearance, possess great durability, andare capable of greatly increased efliciency,

The device illustrated as the preferred embodiment of my inventioncomprises a trap of'cag e-like form produced by electrodes of novelconfiguration and arrangement. This electrocuting cage-like trapisdesigned to be connected in a suitable manner to a source 'of current,usually through ,a conveniently located transformer, and is preferablyattached to a support. In the particular 'embodiment illustrated, thesupport to which the electrocuting cage is attached is in the form ofa'housing for a transformer, and is adapted tobe suspended in suitablelocations either indoors or out of doors.

The nature of the invention and its 's'ev -.v eral' objects andadvantages will" be moreclearly understood ,from the description anddrawings, wherein I have disclosed an example of the-various possibleembodiments of the principles of my invention, and my preferred form ofdetailed construction.

1930'. Serial No. 497,941.

In the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts inthe several views, o 1

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an electrocuting" insect trapaccording to my invention,a portion bein broken away to :eveal thetransformer in lts preferred loca- Figure 2 is a horizontal sectionalview in the direction of the arrow on line 2-2 0 Fig. 1, I

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional former housing, andelectrodes, shown in Fig. 1,

Figure 4 1s a diagrammatic view of the electrical connectionsfor theparts-of the trap, and

Figure 5 is a detail elevational view of a portion of one of theelectrodes.-

The device illustrated is ess'entiall a cage or trap comprising a pairof cage-like electrodes including a plurality of blades, the blades 14of one electrode being arran ed in spaced, alternating relation with thelades 15 of the other electrode. The blades are respectively attached attheir ends to concentrically disposed rings or bands located at theopposite ends of the cage. In the pre ferred form of the deviceillustrated, the blades are disposed in vertical planes and connectupper and lower electrode rings or hands, blades 15 being attached toupper and lower inner rings or bands 8 and 9 and blades 14 to upperandlower outer rings or bands 6 and 7 The blades of the two electrodes ex-The cage-like electrodes, for convenience in handling and use, areattached to a support, which may be at the upper end of the electrodesand may take the form of a cylindrical housing 1 adapted to inclose atransformer T and surmounted bya conical overhanging top 2 provided witha suspending hook 3 of tubular form for the reception of current ofsuitable voltage and opposite polarity from any suitable source (e. g. agenerator G) to the respective electrodes P and N through thetransformer T, as indicated in Fig. 4. In the transformer which I preferto 'use, the magnet, the primary coil and the secondary coil arethoroughly'ins'ulated from each other and have no electricalconnections. The transformer is combined with a trap in such manner thatthe terminals are connected to the alternately arranged electrodes ofthe trap, and the transformer not only transforms the current to a highfrequency but also acts as a condenser or accumulator in building up theelectrostatic charge on the electrodes which form a grid, and the energyor force in the grids is thus increased for the purpose of electrocutingor destroying insects that come in contact with two of the opposedelectrodes.

The radial and alternately spaced arrangeopenings between adjacentblades which are wider at the outer than at the inner side of the trap.These openings may be of sufficient width to permit an insect to enterbetween the blades, but the latter,'at their inner edges, aresufliciently close together to.

insure the electrocution of the insect through contact of its body orwings with opposed electrodes. The width and smooth fiat faces of theblades render it impossible for insects to cling to them, as could bedone, for instance, with wire electrode element s. Insects stunned byflying against the outer surface of the trap, or by the current, willfall into the trap and become electrocute'd because of the outwardlyextending part of the trap below. Even if insects were to reach theinside of the trap through its bottom without passing inwardly throughthe row of blades,

they would in most instances be electrocuted I by coming into contactwith the edges or sides of opposed blades at the inner side of the trapwhile flying about Within it. Whether approaching the electrode bladesfrom within or from without, the insects when electrocuted will fallclear of the trap and may be collected in a pan suspended beneath thetrap (not shown). This result is insured, not only by the use of smoothfiat blades instead of wires, but also by the disposition of theelectrodes vertically and edgewise. Moreover, electrodes P and N, andthe cage-like trap formed thereby, are inclined inwardly. Also becauseof this upwardly tapered (e. g., frusto-conical) shape of the cage ortrap, the opening between adjacent blades at their upper ends isnarrower than the opening between the same blades at their lower ends.This added constriction of the passages between the blades is ofadvantage, particularly since it occurs in the part of the cage nearestthe lure (lamp L) to which the insects will be attracted.

some sort placed within the trap is often desirable. The lure may be alamp (adapted especially for night use) suitably supported within thecage .and connected to the source of current, or it may be a bait (notshown). Vhile the eflicfency of my insect trap is generally increased bythe use of a lure with it, my invention is complete and operativewithout the introduction of insect attracting devices or lure elementstherein.

In the preferred manner of construction and use of my device, theelectrodes, being supported only at their upper ends and being free andspaced apart at their lower ends, provide an open-ended trap, allexposed surfaces of which (bottom and interior, as well as exterior)constitute insect electrocuting surfaces, and through the open bottom ofwhich electrocuted insects are free to drop out of the device. ment ofthe electrode blades 14, 15 provides The novel and important features ofmy invention will now be clearly understood. The advantages hereinbeforeenumerated and explained, and particularly those derived from the use ofwide, flat electrode blades, their manner of disposition in the deviceand their spaced alternating arrangement to form spaced concentricopposed electrodes of cagelike form, the structural features of theelec: trodes and their elements, and their manner of association witheach other and with the housing, transformer and other parts of thedevice, are sufliciently apparent from the foregoing description andneed not be ex plained further, particularly since the novel featureswhich glve rise/to these advantages are pointed out and defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination in an electrocuting insect trap with a housing and atransformer therein, of a trap portion below the housing comprisingelectrodes connected with the transformer, said electrodes includingalternately spaced radially extending blades, and a lure within thetrap. I

2. The combination in an electrocuting trap with a transformer, ahousing therefor, and an outspreading conical top for the housing, of alower trap portion. comprising a air of upper concentric bands and apair 0 lower concentric bands, andradially extending, alternatelyarranged, positive and negative blades connecting said bands.

3. The combination in an electrocuting insect trap with a supportingportion, of a pair of circular concentric bands attached 'to saidsupport, a pair of lower circular concentric bands, and spaced radialblades connecting said upper and lower bands and forming alternatelypositive and negative electrodes.

4. The combination in an sect trap with a supporting portion, of a pairof bands attached to said support, a second pair of bands spaced fromthe first-mentioned pair, each pair of bands being arranged one withinthe other, and spaced blades connecting forming alternately posltionedpositive and negative electrodes.

5. In an electric insect trap, a pair of electrodes, each comprisingspaced radial blades, the blades of said electrodes being disposed inspaced alternating overlapping relation, and means for supporting saidelectrodes.

6. In an electric insect trap the combina tion with a support, of a trapportion comprising a pair of cage-like electrodes one within the otherattached to said support, said electrodes including alternately spacedoverlapping blades.

In an electric insect trap, the combination with a support, of a trapportion secured to sald support and comprising electrodes to be suppliedwith current of opposite polarity, said electrodes including alternatelyspaced radially extending'blades.

8. An electric insect trap comprising a support, and a pair of cage-likeelectrodes secured one within the other to the lower part of saidsupport, said electrodes including alternately spaced blades to besupplied with current of opposite polarity, and means for supporting alure Within the tra 9. An electric insect trap comprising a support, anda pair of cage-like electrodes attached at their upper ends to saidsupport, said electrodes including spaced vertically incline radialblades alternately disposed in overlapping relation.

" 10. A like electrodes, one within the other, said electrodes includingspaced alternately disposed radially extending blades. 7

11. An electric insect trap in the form of :a cage comprising a support,and electrodes secured to said support, said electrodes includingalternately spaced radially extending blades.

12. An electric insect trap comprising concentric electrodes, saidelectrodes including electrocuting insaid pairs of bands and" n electricinsect trap comprising cagealternately spaced radially extending blades.

13. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes, one withinthe other, said electrodes including spaced alternately disposed bladesand the blades of the inner electrode extending outwardly.

14. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes one Withinthe other, each of said electro es including a plurality of spacedblades, the blades of the respective electrodes being disposed in spacedalternating overlapping relation.

15. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes,eachelectrode comprising spaced blade-sllp porting members and aplurality of spaced blades respectively connecting said members, theblades of the respective electrodes-being disposed, in spacedalternating over-lapping relation. p

16. An electric insect trap in the form of a cage comprising a pair ofspaced concentric rings at one end of the cage, a pair of spacedconcentric rings at the opposite end of the cage, and alternatelyarranged positive and negative blades respectively connecting the pairof outer rings and the pair of inner rings.

17 An electric insect trap in the form of a cage comprising a pair ofbands at one end of the cage disposed one within the other in spacedrelation, 9.. pair of spaced bands similarly arranged at the other endof the cage, and electrode blades respectively connecting the inner andouter bands.

18. An electric insect tra-p comprising a cage-like electrode formed oflongitudinally spaced blade-supporting members, and spaced bladesconnecting said members, a second cage-like electrode formed oflongitudi-l nally spaced blade-supporting members and spaced connectingblades, one of said electrodes being disposed within the other with theblades of one electrode lying between and in spaced relation with theblades of the other electrode. e

19. An electric insect trap comprising a pair of upwardly taperingcage-like elec trodes, one Within. and insulated from the other, eachelectrode including blades and the blades of the respective electrodesbeing disposed inalternately spaced overlapping relatign.

20. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes, one withinthe other, said electrodes including spaced alternately disposed blades,and the blades of the respective electrodes extending edgewise towardeach other.

21. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes, one Withinthe other, each electrode includingspaced blades, and the blades of therespective electrodes extending in opposite directions intospacedoverlapping relation.

22. An electric insect trap comprising 130 v one Within the other,

cage-like elect-rodes disposed one Within the other, and comprisingspaced blade-supporting members connected by spaced blades, the bladesbeing integral with said members and bent at an angle thereto, and theblades of One electrode being disposed in spaced alter nating relationto the blades of the other electrode.

23. In an electric insect trap, the combination with a support, ofcage-like electrodes located one Within the other, each electrode beingattached at one end to said support and open at its opposite end, saidelectrodes including alternately spaced positive and negat1ve inwardlyconverging blades.

24. In an electric insect trap, the combination with a support, of cagelike electrodes located one Within the other and attached to saidsupport only at one end, said electrodes including alternately spacedpositive and negative blades.

25. In an electric insect trap, the combination with a support, ofcage-like electrodes located one within the other, each electrode beingsuspended from said support and open at one end, said electrodesincluding .alternately spaced positive and negative blades, and a lureWithin the inner electrode.

26. An electric insect trap comprising concentrically arranged cage-likeelectrodes each including a series of spaced projecting members, theprojecting members of one electrode extending in spaced relation betweenthe projecting members of the other electrode.

27. An electric insect trap comprising concentric'ally arrangedcage-like electrodes, each including a series of spaced projectingmembers, the projecting members of the respective electrodes extendingin opposite directions into spaced. overlapping relation.

28. An electric insect trap comprising a pair of tapering concentriccage-like electrodes, said electrodes including spaced blades disposededgewise in spaced staggered relation.

29. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes one withinthe other, each electrode including spaced blades, the blades of oneelectrode extending between the blades of the other electrode in spacedrelation.

30. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes one Withinthe other, each electrode including spaced radial blades, the blades ofthe respective electrodes being arranged in spaced staggered relation.

31. An electric insect trap comprising a support and a pair of cage-likeelectrodes attached only at their upper ends to said suport, saidelectrodes including upwardly inclined blades arranged in spacedalternating relation.

32. In an electric insect trap, the combination with a support, of aseries of positive blades of the other electrode.

35. An electric insect trap comprising cage-like electrodes, one Withinthe other,

each of said electrodes including spaced radial blades, the blades ofthe respective electrodes being arranged in spaced staggered relation.

36. An electric insect trap comprising a pair of taperingcage-likeelectrodes one within the other, said electrodes includingspaced blades disposed in spaced alternating relation.

WILLIAM M. FROST.

